After owning these polishes for a while without touching them, I’ve been working through this collection slowly but surely this year. This last one is probably the most interesting of them all! Orly Space Cadet (Cosmic FX, Fall 2010) is a predominantly rosy pink multichrome microglitter:

Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well, but due to the sheerness of the formula I needed three coats for full coverage. This polish is beautiful but frustrates me because I found it impossible to photograph even remotely accurately! I tried taking pictures over two days and I still couldn’t capture how it looks in real life, so this is definitely one to see in person. Most photos I took made it look like just a brownish bronze. I only define this as predominantly rosy pink because that’s how it looks in the bottle, but on the nail, it color shifts at any given angle. Unlike other duochromes I’ve tried, which look like one color straight-on, then totally shifts to the other color at another angle, this one operates on a sliding scale of color change. As I move my nails, I can see swampy green, ivy green, bronze, rose pink, mauve, pinkish purple…there’s probably more! It’s a microglitter, too, so it’s nice and sparkly. The finish also comes across as having a metallic, spacey vibe. I know there’s a dupe out there in MAC Mean & Green, but I still look at this as unique. I paired it with OPI Excuse Moi! on my toes.

I’ve tried plenty of vampy polishes already this month, but this one falls under that category in a totally unique way. Orly Galaxy Girl (Cosmic FX, Fall 2010) is a deep wine-purple with turquoise and red microglitter:

Picture taken in artificial light. (Regrettably, there was no good sunlight to photograph this in all its glory, but artificial light was the next best option in this case.) This applied well, but was a bit sheer so I needed three coats for full coverage. This has turned into an unexpected favorite of mine! It’s so multi-faceted; I see it turn into three colors in different angles/lighting situations. Looking at it straight-on in direct light, as in my photo, it looks like a glittery almost-black. If I tilt my nails upward in the light, the base color reveals itself and it looks like a rich reddish purple. Out of direct light, the turquoise microglitter takes over and it looks like a blackened teal! As I don’t own the dupe MAC Formidable!, this is unique in my collection. I wouldn’t call it traditionally “pretty,” but there’s something gorgeous about it. I love that the deep base makes it vampy, but the microglitter gives it a galactic vibe. I paired this with Illamasqua Strike on my toes.

In a momentary return to dark colors, I’m wearing Orly Out of this World (Cosmic FX, Fall 2010) is a cool purple microglitter in a black base:

Picture taken in sunlight. (Click to see in clearer detail.) This applied well, but the formula was on the sheer side. I did manage to get away with not having to do three full coats; I did two with some touchups. When I see purple glitter in a black base it’s usually on the warm, fuchsia side, so it’s refreshing to see a cool-toned purple. Plus, it’s cool-toned without being blurple, which is also nice to see. There seems to be a swampy green duochrome, but I only saw it in the bottle. The black base makes it really dark, but the purple microglitter lights up the finish, like embers glowing just beneath the surface. It’s the type of microglitter that I really love, the tiny, flaky, irregular kind! It does have a certain intergalactic vibe to it, but it also makes me think of Disney’s Maleficent or Ursula. I paired this with Sinful See You Soon on my toes.

Now that the postseason is underway (The Yankees won a game that was tense until they blew out the Orioles in the 9th inning. :)), I have several blues and greys to try. First up is a mani that combines both colors. OPI Blue Shatter is an electric blue shimmer. I put it over Orly Mirror Mirror (Once Upon a Time, Fall 2009), a light cement grey creme:

Left hand:

Right hand:

Pictures taken in weak sunlight. Mirror Mirror applied smoothly and was nicely pigmented, giving full coverage in two coats. It provided a good, fast-drying base for Blue Shatter. Blue Shatter is another that would look good as a regular polish, too. It’s such a vibrant, electric shade of royal blue. It has that glowy metallic quality to it, but it’s not frosty at all, just loaded with pretty, light blue shimmer. It might not be as obviously Yankee-themed as this crackle mani I did last year, but at least I crossed off the last untried crackle polish off my list. I paired this with Color Club Who Are You Wearing? on my toes.

I’d like to throw in some jewel-toned polishes (my usual M.O. in September) among all the brights I’ve been trying recently. Plus, this is from another collection I want to finally finish trying. Orly Halley’s Comet (Cosmic FX, Fall 2010) is a vibrant blue-green microglitter:

Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well, though the formula was on the sheer side; I used three coats to get a really solid, opaque result. I can’t really complain about the sheerness of the base, though, because that’s what allows all the microglitter that’s loaded in there to shine through. The finish is brilliant and gorgeous, and of course looks stunning in the light. Upon closer inspection this doesn’t seem to be just a teal microglitter; I see gold microglitter in there too, making the overall finish more dimensional. I think the gold also pulls the shade to the warmer, greener side, rather than the cooler, bluer side (but as per usual, it photographs a little bluer than it looks in real life.) I love this sort of shade; it really reminds me of the sea and mermaids, especially when it’s in a glittery finish. I paired this with OPI Meep-Meep-Meep on my toes.

I have all reds and blues planned for the next few days, not just for Labor Day weekend, but also because they’re also the colors of Novak Djokovic’s kit during this US Open. First up is Orly Lunar Eclipse (Cosmic FX, Fall 2010) is a vibrant sapphire blue microglitter that flashes royal purple:

Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well, though the formula was on the sheer side, so I needed three coats for complete coverage. The upside is that the base is loaded with microglitter, which gives the finish a look of great depth. This is another collection I’ve been determined to finish trying, especially because this sort of microglitter finish is gorgeous. Unfortunately I couldn’t capture the duochrome aspect of it; I just don’t think it translates that well to a two-dimensional image. This is definitely one to see in person. Looking at it straight-on, you’ll see the color as it looks in my photo. It’s a very saturated blue packed with twinkling blue microglitter. With a tilt of the nails, you’ll see the color shift to a rich royal purple with pink microglitter. It’s absolutely gorgeous all-around. It seems fitting to wear this now, as we’ve had a blue moon this month. I paired this with OPI Animal-istic on my toes.

Picture taken in weak sunlight. This applied well, like a regular creme polish, in two coats. After a few minutes it starts drying to the satin finish. I actually love the leathery satin look, but only when it turns out smooth! Too often, I find that this sort of finish gets bubbly on me, so I have to work slowly and with thin coats. (I actually had to redo a couple of nails before taking this photo because there were too many bubbles.) I was afraid this wouldn’t last the day so after taking photos I threw on topcoat. It defeats the purpose of the finish but I’d like to go about my day without immediately messing up my nails. (I don’t know how long it takes these satin polishes to truly harden and set, but in the past I’ve messed up my nails even after waiting a considerable amount of dry time.) I still like the teal color so I didn’t mind sacrificing the vinyl look. I paired this with OPI Pamplona Purple on my toes.

Picture taken in sunlight. This applied well but due to the slightly sheer nature of microglitter formulas I needed three coats for full, even coverage. The tone of green changes depending on the light. In bright light the shade of green looks springier and lighter, more chartreuse-y and radioactive-like. But in lower lighting conditions, it looks darker, with a more mossy, swampy olive tone. When looked at at a certain angle you can also see teal at the very edges, but this is only a very subtle, slight duochrome effect. I absolutely love this color in this finish! With these really dense microglitters it really seems like each glitter particle is so defined! It’s wonderfully sparkly. It took me a while to finally haul the polishes from this collection but after trying this first one I can’t wait to use the rest! I paired this with Sephora by OPI Miss Bossy Pants on my toes.

I could hardly think about 4th of July weekend with The Championships on my mind. It’s all about Novak Djokovic. 😀 I’m immensely happy and proud that he acheieved both a career goal (reaching the No. 1 ranking) and realized a childhood dream (winning Wimbledon). He is having an unparalleled season so far, losing only one match in 49 played, and has already won eight titles, including four Masters Series and two Grand Slams. I am certainly looking forward to the rest of the season. But anyway, for my 4th of July mani I chose Orly Retro Red (Plastix, Fall 2010), a reddish coral satin creme:

Picture taken in natural light. (I would have waited for sunlight but I was afraid I would smudge my nails even more than they already are here.) This applied well, like a regular creme polish. I needed three coats for opaque, even coverage. I’m a little disappointed that this isn’t a true red; it’s more of a red-orange with strong coral tones. It’s a lovely color nonetheless, it’s just that with a name like “Retro Red” I would have expected that classic, pin-up, lipstick red-red, or something that looked like a red leather jacket. I do adore the satin finish; it still looks a little matte, but not flat and chalky. The big downside to this polish, though, is the dry time. Maybe because the formula had a consistency like regular nail polish, or maybe it was because of the humidity, but I found this took forever to dry through. Even though my nails were dry to the touch, they were still very dentable, even after trying to set them with ice water. I couldn’t wait around for it to dry completely so my mani got wrecked within hours of finishing it. 😦 I wish it did dry faster, ’cause I like most everything else about this polish! I paired this with Sally Hansen Thinking of Blue (Complete Salon Manicure) on my toes.

I’m not super obsessed with the royal wedding, but I am definitely going to watch it tomorrow. I wanted to put on a “something blue” that was also fresh and springy (and I wanted to finish trying all the polishes from this collection). Orly Snowcone (Sweet, Spring 2010) is a soft, cornflower blue creme:

Picture taken in natural light. This applied well; the formula was so pigmented that I barely needed two coats. The color is simply gorgeous. It’s more soft than it is bright, but it still looks so fresh and crisp. There’s just something about cornflower blue that’s so dreamy. 🙂 I paired this with OPI Dating a Royal (of course) on my toes.